An offspinning allrounder who was largely seen as a T20 specialist, K Gowtham changed his narrative in 2016 when he broke back into Karnataka's Ranji Trophy side and took 18 wickets in his first three matches. His consistency earned him a place with the India A team in 2017 and a gigantic pay-day in the 2018 IPL auction when he was bought by Rajasthan Royals for INR 6.2 crore (USD 968000 approx)

Amid those highlights was a bit of controversy as well when he took leave from the Duleep Trophy in 2017, citing illness, and was found a few days a later playing in the Karnataka Premier League. The BCCI pulled him out of the squad to play New Zealand A for actions that were a "gross insult to the system".